87
STATE OF ISRAEL
SECOND GLOBAL REPORT ON RESTITUTION
OF RIGHTS AND LOOTED JEWISH PROPERTY
1952-2008
JUNE 2009 JERUSALEM
The Second Global Report on Restitution of Rights and Looted Jewish Property (1952-2008) created for the 2009 Prague Holocaust-Era Assets Conference to serve as a resource, as well as a basis for deliberations.
This report is based mainly on The First Global Report on Restitution of Jewish Property (1952-2004) which was composed in accordance with a 2003 Israel Government resolution, by the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee on Restitution of Rights and Jewish Property. The First Report included the activities in Israel and various other countries and consolidated the reports of the countries and organizations engaged in this subject. The report was submitted to the Ministerial Committee on Restitution of Rights and Jewish Property, discussed and approved by Government resolution in 2005.
We acknowledge with gratitude all those who participated in compiling both reports. Without their important contributions, assistance and devotion this report would have never reached its present depth and comprehensiveness (please see names listed on the last page of this report).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Executive Summary…………………………………………………….............................6
Preface……………………………………………………………………………………10
Introduction………………………………………………………………………..……..12
1. GERMAN RESPONSIBILITY (Where it all began)………………...…………………13
A Shoah: Holocaust Chronology……………………………………….……….........….15
2. THE JEWISH MATERIAL DAMAGE DURING THE SHOAH (The Result)………….17
2.1. The Jewish Material Damage during the Shoah…………………………………….17
2.2. Looted Jewish Private Property……………………………………………………..17
2.3. Looted Jewish Communal Property…………………………………………...........18
2.4. Abandoned Jewish Culture: Jewish Cemeteries………………………………….....19
2.5. The Law on Restitution of Jewish Property………………………………………...19
3. UNRESOLVED ISSUES (What needs to be done) .……………………………..........19
3.1. Returning to the Jewish People……………………………………………………...20
3.2. Right Value …………………………………………………………………………20
3.3. Recording and Publication………………….…………………………………….....20
3.4. Judicial………………………………………………………………………............21
3.5. Follow-up on Resolutions of International Conferences …………………………...21
3.6. Follow-up on Historical Commissions and Reconciliation…………………………21
3.7. Coordinated Jewish Distribution……………………………………………………21
3.8. Future Fund of Jewish People and Diaspora (Unclaimed Property)………………..22
3.9. Further Research Required………………………………………………………....22
3.10. Nazi Impact on Lives and Property of Jews from North Africa…………………..23
3.11. Next Steps………………………………………………………………………....23
APPENDIX A - UNRESOLVED ISSUES: PROCESSES AND COUNRTY BY COUNTRY…25
A1. Looted Jewish Art…………………………………………………………………..25
A2. Jewish Life Insurance Policies……………………………………………………...25
A3. Burial of Jewish Holocaust Victims…………………………………………...........26
A4. Countries:
Austria…………………………………………………………………………………..26
Bosnia……………………………………………………………………………….......27
Bulgaria…………………………………………………………………………………27
Croatia…………………………………………………………………………………..28
The Czech Republic…………………………………………………………………….29
European Union (EU)………………………………………………………………......30
France….……………………………………………………………………………….30
Germany……………………………………………………………………………......30
Greece………………………………………………………………………………......33
Hungary………………………………………………………………………………...33
Israel (see Appendix C1)
Italy………………………………………………………………………………….....34
Latvia .…………………………………………………………………………………35
Lithuania…………………………………………………………………………….....36
Republic of Macedonia………………………………………………………………...37
Poland……………………………………………………………………………….....38
Romania………………………………………………………………………………..39
Republic of Serbia ……………………………………………………………………..41
Slovakia………………………………………………………………………………...41
Slovenia…………………………………………………………………………….…..42
Former Soviet Union…………………………………………………………………...43
Sweden………………………………………………………………………………....44
Ukraine…………………………………………………………………………………44
United States (see Appendix C4)
Vatican………………………………………………………………………………....45
APPENDIX B - ACROSS BORDERS (What has been done)…………………………...46
B1. German Reparations for the State of Israel and the Jewish People………………..46
B2. German Personal Restitution, Compensation, Indemnification and
Pensions for Jews ………………………………………………………................48
B3. German Restitution of Jewish Unclaimed Property……………………………….49
B4. German Forced Labor Compensation for Jews……………………………………49
B5. German Life Insurance policies……………………………………………………50
B6. German Dormant Bank Accounts…………………………………………………50
B7. German Future Fund………………………………………………………………50
B8. International Process and Conferences …………………………………………....50
B9. Jewish Dormant Bank Accounts in Swiss Banks………………………………….50
B10. Jewish Life Insurance Policies………………………………………………........51
B11. Looted Shoah Victims Gold………………………...……………………………55
B12. Looted Jewish Art………………………………………………………………..55
B13. Looted Jewish Communal Property……………………………………………...56
B14. Looted Jewish Private Property………………………………………………….56
B15. Historical Commissions on conduct of Nations during the Shoah:
Holocaust and Reconciliation……………………………………………………56
B16. A Shoah Restitution Timeline……………………………………………………59
APPENDIX C - ONGOING ACTIVITY (Who is doing what) …………………………61
C1. Israeli Government and Parliament: From German Reparations until today……..61
C2. Jewish Organizations: 1) Claims Conference; 2) WJRO; 3) Center of
Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel…………………………………....65
C3. U.S. Congress: “Helsinki Commission”…………………………………………...69
C4. U.S.: State Department & Treasury Department…………………………………..69
C5. Foundations: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Norway, Other……..72
APPENDIX D - POST HOLOCAUST ISSUES (Never Again!) .........................................77
D1. Holocaust Denial…………………………………………………………………...77
D2. Anti-Semitism……………………………………………………………………...77
D3. Shoah Commemoration and Education……………………………………………78
D4. Historical Commissions on conduct of Nations during the Shoah:
Holocaust and Reconciliation……………………………………………………...79
BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………….………………...…….........80
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………….……………………………………….....90
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
· It all started with hatred of Jews just because they were Jews linked to the complete absence of freedom in the murderous tyranny and despotism in Nazi Germany, and with similar situations in the countries of her allies.[1] It ended with the greatest crimes in human history, the worst of which were the degradation, torture, and ultimate extermination of four million Jewish men and women and two million Jewish children, and the robbing of every conceivable kind of property belonging to nine million Jews.
· The cause of the need for Restitution is the Shoah that originated in Nazi Germany. As a result of the Shoah, material damage in private and communal property and abandoned or destroyed Jewish culture.
· The Attorney General in Israel (today the Supreme Court Justice, Honorable Elyakim Rubinstein) recommended in 1999 to the Prime Minister that a global report on Restitution of Jewish Property be created. The government acted upon this recommendation when it resolved to establish the Ministerial Committee on Restitution of Rights and Jewish Property.
· It was a challenge to produce the First Report. Many of the subjects required major new research. Therefore, the focus of the First Report was mainly on the Jewish material damage during the Shoah and on unresolved issues. The Appendixes herein describe what has been done.
· The First Report in 2005 was the first ever of its kind. Historians may speculate about why it took 60 years. In the initial post-Holocaust period, Shoah survivors were totally preoccupied with getting their lives together once more, extricating themselves from the pit of extermination camps, setting up new families, in the struggle for the establishment of the State of Israel. There was little or no time to deal with the material issues, and there was a general reluctance to broach this subject. While memories of the Nazi horrors were still fresh and the wounds still festering, who could speak of the Holocaust and money in the same breath?
· In the nineties, fifty years after the beginning of WWII, many closed archives were opened. This led to new, published research that became instrumental in making Restitution issues available in depth for public, open discussion.
· Six million Jews were murdered during the Shoah, but the property of nine million European Jews was looted or destroyed. The contents of homes and apartments, real estate, commercial accounts and economic investments, savings and insurance policies, personal effects, investments in gold, bank accounts, securities, foreign currency, jewelry, art and other valuables all were plundered.
· Jewish material damage during the Shoah is estimated to be $230-320 billion (1997 prices) as follows: Jewish looted property - $120 billion; Loss of Income - $100-150 billion; Wages unpaid for forced labor - $10-50 billion.
Stuart Eizenstat, who was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton to coordinate the U.S. government’s efforts to identify the assets of Shoah victims, estimated at the end of 1998 that the assets were worth $145 billion, in 1998 prices ($150 billion in current prices. This figure refers to Looted Jewish Property, which is only a part of the overall Jewish Material Damage during the Shoah).
· Some estimates suggest that no more than 20 percent of looted Jewish assets of all sorts – private and communal - were returned after the Shoah.
Communal property probably does not account for more than five percent of the assets looted. Still, only a small fraction of it was restitute
· Restitution of Jewish private property is the weakest link in the Restitution process. A great deal still needs to be done in this area.
· Even though over $8 billion dollars of one-time payments were negotiated in settlements during 1998-2001 (some to non-Jews) and a substantial part was paid and distributed, this is only a small part of the Jewish material damage during the Shoah. There is much left to be done to achieve some justice for Shoah survivors and their heirs.
· Quite a number of Restitution issues were dealt with successfully. However the accomplishments made so far are incomplete. Some of those with whom agreements on Restitution were negotiated have not implemented those agreements fully and do only the bare minimum.
· There has been a loss of momentum in dealing with the hundreds of thousands of elderly victims, Shoah survivors, about ten percent of who die each year. Any systematic delay in establishing settlement and disbursement processes or resolving disputes is therefore not just another bureaucratic hurdle. It is rather the difference between a dignified closing to a tragic period in their lives and an unrequited sense of the permanent denial of justice. These survivors deserve assistance for the needs of old age to alleviate their unabated suffering.
· It is just and right that whatever belonged to the Jewish people should go back to the Jewish People. The distribution among the Jewish People becomes then an issue for the Jewish people themselves.
· It is the Jewish people who were the major victims of the Nazi atrocities before and during World War II. The dead cannot be returned alive, but whatever can be done to help Shoah survivors and future Jewish generations must be done. Whatever can be done for Shoah commemoration and education must also be done. This is the only way to achieve some justice at this late date.
· The issue of the current value of Restituted property is of essence. The historical pre-WWII value has little relevance today. Substantial work was done on this in the process of updating the value of insurance policies from the Shoah era. This can serve as a raw model for other types of restituted assets.
· There is an urgent need for registration of Jewish Property in a centralized database that will serve as a resource and memorial for future generations of the Jewish heritage in Europe prior to WWII.
· Restitution can successfully be dealt with only by exceptional legal measures. In most countries, special, fast, and simple legislation is badly needed. Only extraordinary means will enable closure on the issues of restitution of Jewish property.
· There is a need for follow-up to assure implementation of resolutions adopted at international conferences. A great deal of multinational effort went into achieving these resolutions, and they must be fully implemented.
· There is a need for follow-up on resolutions and recommendations of historical commissions and reconciliation bodies. In some countries, progress has been painstakingly slow.
· Stuart Eizenstat suggested in his memo to the American court dealing with the Swiss banks litigation to look at four substantial amounts of funds originating from Restitution. He further suggested how to coordinate the distribution of those funds. Eizenstat’s proposal could serve as a basis for the “big picture” thinking. Such visionary thinking is essential to help Shoah survivors, assist Shoah education and commemoration, and to ensure continuity and the future existence of the Jewish People.
· Several attempts were made in Israel to establish a Future Fund of the Jewish People and Diaspora and deposit into it heirless funds originating from Restitution. The attempts were made by proposed legislation in the Knesset and by establishing a new non-profit organization. All attempts have been opposed by the Shoah survivors’ organizations. They continue to insist that the funds should be used for the benefit of needy survivors.
· There are many unresolved issues, among them major issues involving art, real estate, and insurance. In addition, there are at least 20 countries with unresolved issues inclusive of Israel and the United States (in alphabetical order): Austria, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Romania, the Former Soviet Union, Sweden, Ukraine, and the Vatican.
· A country-by-country “Combined Status” report is necessary and requires further research. Restitution depends on what has already been done in each country, and what needs to be done in various areas such as legislature, economics, politics etc. Professional evaluation needs to be done on each country.
· Further research is required on the Nazi impact on the lives and the property of Jews from North Africa.
· In order to prevent another Shoah other crucial areas need to be dealt with such as: Holocaust denial; Anti-Semitism; Shoah commemoration and education; and follow up on Historical Commissions to examine the conduct of nations during the Shoah.
· A five-year Work Plan on Policy and Principles and a five-year Work Plan relating to the Restitution of Rights to Jewish-owned Property were formulated in March of 2004. They were submitted for review of WJRO and the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel. They were then brought for approval to the Ministerial Committee for Restitution of Rights and Jewish Property. The primary concept was to have closure on as many as possible issues within five years, while some of the first generation Shoah survivors are alive.
· After the Ministerial Committee approved the multi-annual policy, an annual action plan for each of the five years needed to be formulated, decided and agreed upon, with relevant bodies and organizations in Israel and abroad participating.
· The division of labor for the annual action plan needs to be done according to the ability of the participants to bring closure on the issues within the framework agreed upon.
The implementation of above-mentioned Ministerial Committee Policy will be funded by the Government in cooperation with other relevant organs.
PREFACE
The Attorney General of Israel (today the Supreme Court Justice, Honorable Elyakim Rubinstein), recommended in 1999 to the Prime Minister that a global report on Restitution of Jewish property should be composed. His recommendation came after a full day symposium [2] he held that year on the many aspects of Restitution [3]. In 2003, the government acted upon this recommendation when it resolved to establish the Ministerial Committee on Restitution of Rights and Jewish Property (see Chapter 3.11).
Composing the First Global Report on the Restitution of Jewish Property (1952-2004) was a difficult challenge. It was the first-ever report of its kind. It required the organization and compilation of a myriad of sources of information. In its completion and entirety the First Global Report on the Restitution of Jewish Property served as a framework for all matters concerning the issue. This framework created a need to compose a Second Global Report on the Restitution of Jewish Property.
The First Report answered the questions of what, when, who, why, and where? Private and communal Jewish property was plundered by European nations during the Shoah and WWII. The Jewish people of Europe were victim to genocide simply because they were Jews. In total, 6 million Jews were murdered and 9 million Jews lost ownership of their property.
The First Report also brought clarity to the need for the Restitution of Jewish property. In 2005, 60 years after the end of WWII and the Shoah, the time was ripe to address the issue. Shoah survivors were much older and had reached a time of relative stability in their lives. The memories of Nazi horror were no longer fresh and immediate. Shoah survivors had reestablished their lives and created families.